Photojournalist released in Iran

The Anglo-Greek photojournalist Iason Athanasiadis, detained by Iranian authorities at the height of the recent post-election unrest, was finally released at the weekend after being held for two weeks. His freedom was attributed to "goodwill" efforts made by the Iranian ambassador in Athens, according to a report in the Times.

Athanasiadis was the photographer whose essay 'Children of the Revolution', published by The First Post two years ago, helped opened western eyes to the emergence of a new generation of Iranians seeking change.

Also known as James Fowden - his father is English, and his mother Greek - he has spent considerable time in Tehran in recent years. On this occasion he was visiting from his base in Istanbul on behalf of the Washington Times. As many as 40 journalists are understood to have been held in a crackdown on media reporting, but apart from Athanasiadis they were all Iranians. Most foreign correspondents were expelled.

Hassan Ghashghavi, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Sunday that Athanasiadis had been arrested "for activities that were contradictory to journalism and in connection with the recent street riots". His parents, who had been fighting for his release in Athens, claimed he had love and respect for Iran.

Meanwhile, only one of the nine local employees of the British embassy in Tehran detained on June 27 now remains in custody. He is Hossein Rassam, a political analyst who worked closely with the British ambassador, Simon Gass. There are fears Rassam will face a show trial for "threatening national security".